Seoul, July 16 (IANS) South Korea’s police said Thursday they have applied for an arrest warrant for a woman who staged a solo blockade of a vote counting centre last month amid protests demanding a rerun of the June 3 local elections.
The woman is accused of standing outside a door to the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in southern Seoul, which had been used as a ballot counting centre, on June 16 and preventing sports groups based at the stadium from entering.
The woman had refused to move despite Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the main opposition People Power Party, brokering an agreement between protesters and the sports groups for sports officials to enter their offices inside the gym, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Seoul Songpa Police Station said it applied for the warrant for the woman on charges of obstruction of business.
The Seoul Eastern District Court is scheduled to hold an arrest warrant hearing on the case on Tuesday.
The police have also requested an arrest warrant for a man in his 30s on charges of illegally searching through personal belongings of members of the national women’s youth handball team outside the stadium on June 8.
They have also sought warrants to arrest three men in their 20s on charges of cursing at police officers and obstructing their duty.
The protests began after shortages of ballot papers were reported at multiple polling stations on election day, causing some voters to turn back without casting their ballots.
Earlier in June, South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok called for a speedy and rigorous investigation into ballot shortages reported during local elections.
During a meeting with officials from the interior, justice, education and culture ministries, as well as the National Police Agency and the prosecution, Kim said bipartisan cooperation is needed to investigate the ballot shortage to solidify democracy.
His remarks came as the National Assembly launched formal procedures for a potential parliamentary investigation into ballot shortages.
–IANS
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